


Neap Tides

by SoVeryTired



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Annabeth is Captain of the Guard, F/M, Go look it up, One chapter per day, Percy is a Sea God, The Others Are Her Crew, fluff-ish, sea god AU, three-shot, weird title
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:40:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24310696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoVeryTired/pseuds/SoVeryTired
Summary: Sea God & Captain of the Guard AU: Percy is water incarnate. He is the sea personified, and he has an undeniable fascination for the captain of the guard in the fort near his current lagoon. It's too bad, then, that the ocean will always leave.Ahaha, [insert disclaimer here]Three-shot.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My cousin and I came up with this prompt. It's going to be three chapters (probably) so there's a decent chance of me finishing it for once! owo
> 
> By sea personified, I mean like how Gaea can walk on earth or whatever… but like, less psycho. Naturally, Annabeth is the captain.
> 
> Also, it's highly likely Percy doesn't end up leaving because I do not write sad endings whatsoever. Like, ew. Sob. It might be a two-shot instead.
> 
> Also, there are asterisks. They are not random. If you scroll to the bottom, there are some notes (NOT in the notes section) that are really more along the line of things I thought I should mention. They are in order. The first chapter has 3 of them. Basically, author's notes.

Percy sat in the water, staring at the person standing on the top deck of the boat. A girl - well, woman, really - stood with her hands placed firmly on the rail, stormy gray eyes fixated on something in the far distance. Strands of blonde hair whipped around her shoulders, the majority of it held back by a messy ponytail.

As he watched, she turned and walked away, descending the stairs to where he could no longer see her. She was the captain of the guard, and she was beautiful.

OoOoOoOoO

Percy was captivated. Enthralled. Beguiled. Spellbound. The ocean was falling apart! A school of fish hosted a swimming tournament that turned into a massacre because the sharks had nothing better to do. There was a whale collision during a chariot race. It was a disaster, and Percy had no idea.

While the ocean-wide economy was dying, Percy was devising a plan to talk to her. He could serenade her with a whale song (the whales were currently indisposed, not that he knew), but since she was human, she might not appreciate it. He could get one of his animal friends to knock her off of the boat, and then he could save her (she probably wouldn't appreciate that either), or he could pretend to drown, and see if she would save him.

All of those plans had flaws, but it wasn't like Percy had a lot of human interaction, and, if he was honest, all the other ocean spirits did was gush about the cute guys on the beach*.

He decided to go with the last option. He couldn't actually drown, but he thought of himself as a decent actor. He was in politics and all. Having to negotiate water space between the sharks and the dolphins was tedious work.

He shut his eyes tightly and willed water to wash over him, soaking him.

[Bleep]! It's been so long since I've been… wet. Ew. What was I doing? Oh, right.

"Heeeeelp!" he yelled, madly waving his arms and splashing water everywhere before sinking under for a second and resurfacing with a gurgle. Water was in his lungs, but it didn't actually bother him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the pretty girl take a deep breath, pinch her nose, and execute a perfect dive into the water.

He splashed around for a couple more seconds in fake panic until he felt a hand grab his flailing wrist.

"Hey," a female voice said in his ear. "Stop moving. Hang onto me. I'll…" she looked to find the nearest area of land. There was nothing closer than her boat. Percy mentally congratulated himself on choosing a great place to "drown" before continuing to twitch and, occasionally, cough. "I'll take you back to my ship." she said grudgingly. "Let's go."

He wrapped his hands tightly around her shoulders and by the gods, humans were always so warm, even when they were wet*. She started swimming, kicking salt water into his eyes (it wasn't a big deal. He lived in salt water. Lived for salt water.) and occasionally slapping him (ouch).

"Let a ladder down!" she called up when they reached the boat. Immediately, a rope ladder unfurled, dropping down and hitting him on the head.

"Ow," he muttered.

"Climb," the girl barked as she gestured to the ladder. Obediently, Percy started climbing, the girl (woman! He really needed to start calling her that. But she was pretty young, compared to him) right on his heels. "Hazel, can you get us some towels?"

Another pretty girl that seemed younger than The Pretty Girl nodded and ran off.

"Leo, get me hot chocolate." she paused. "Oh, and, um…"

"Percy," Percy supplied helpfully.

"Percy. Yeah, get him hot cocoa, too."

"Why does Hazel get asked nicely?" grumbled 'Leo' as he walked away.

"Leo," The Pretty Girl warned. "While you're at it, tell Piper to start fixing up another room for our… guest." She shot him a look.

He smiled.

She rolled her eyes.

OoOoOoOoO

They sat on a rug in front of a flickering fire. "So, tell me." Said The Pretty Girl. "What were you doing in the middle of the ocean, ridiculously far away from any land?"

Percy just smiled and shrugged. "So, tell me." He repeated. "What's your name?"

She raised one eyebrow at him - gods, he wished he could do that. Even an immortal shapeshifter had its limits. "Do you need to know?"

He smiled again. "No. But I want to. Plus, you know mine."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Point. I'm Annabeth."

She held out her hand for him to shake, and when he grasped it, squeezed too hard and pulled him into a headlock.

"Wha- ow! Stop that! I'm not sure what couples do nowadays, but I'm fairly certain this is not it." He yelped in indignation.

She snorted. "True that. And with the way you talk, it's a wonder you still think I haven't figured you out yet."

Percy tried - and failed - to raise an eyebrow. "Really, now? Figured me out? Do tell."

Annabeth just stares at him oddly. "Why is your eyebrow twitching?"

"Huh- no! I just can't do the thingy where you raise one eyebrow and not the other, like how do you do it oh my gods it's just impossible ugh I can't even-"

"You're magic," Annabeth interrupts. "A shapeshifter, or some kind of spirit, at the very least. Shouldn't you be able to raise one eyebrow?"

"How'd you figure it out?"

"Well," Annabeth snorted. "For one, you talk like we're all different from you. For another, you act weird."

"It's been a while since I've talked to mortals, okay?" Percy muttered. "I'm a bit… out of practice. Can you let go of me? I don't need to breathe, but that doesn't mean chokeholds are fun."

Annabeth's eyes narrowed. She was scary, and her beauty only added to the intimidation. "Not until I decide you're not dangerous," she scowled, and he became aware of the knife in her belt-unpleasant, but manageable.

He could, of course, overpower her. He was, after all, the tide. But he didn't think that fighting and threatening someone was the best way to start a relationship*.

So, instead, he turned his head at an unnatural angle (sometimes girls liked it, so trying wasn't completely out of the question), winked, and said, "I like the way it feels in your arms."

It was as if he'd thrown a hand grenade into the finely tuned cogs of her mind. She blanched, red making its way across her face.

"What?" She coughed.

"So… wanna date?" He said, wiggling his perfectly-sculpted eyebrows.

"We just met each other." she spluttered. "Why- what- why would I want to date you?"

He scoffed, and gestured at himself. "Why wouldn't you want to?"

"I just met you!"

"So you keep saying. How is that relevant?"

"I don't know anything about you! For all intents and purposes, you could be an axe murderer?"

"Eh, not really." He tapped his chin. "I mean, how would you murder an axe anyway?"

She flushed angrily. "That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

He interlaced his finger, propping them up under his chin. "Do I?"

"Ugh!" She threw her hands up in the air exasperatedly. "Will you stop that?"

"Stop what?"

"Being so… annoying!"

He smirked. "Most girls consider it charming."

"I'm not 'most girls'."

"No," he mused. "You are not, and that's the point."

I am an utter disaster right now. Help.

Creepy much, Percy?

that's RIGHT. Kids, if fighting occurs the moment you meet, the only way for a relationship to happen is YEARS and YEARS later. Combine, explosions! Chemistry! And tension. Boom! Magic. Wait, wrong fandom. But basically, if you want to take someone out (like, on a date, not like an assassin) then don't argue with them the MOMENT YOU MEET (unless you're a tsundere, in which you'll still end up rejected until TEN YEARS LATER, when you two are living together and sappy as HECK)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Welcome back! I really, really, hope you decided to stay. uwu
> 
> So (ugh) this is literally the hardest work I've ever done. Not because it was difficult (it was) but because I just… couldn't write. Like, I wrote one sentence a day. (Except that one day where I wrote like a pretty decent amount… but irrelevant).
> 
> Anyways, you'd think with more time on my hands, I'd write more, right? Yeah, well, NO.
> 
> Cries.
> 
> Well, here goes nothing.

Annabeth had no idea how she got here, sitting across from a (unfairly) hot god of the sea, in a fancy restaurant with menus she couldn't even understand.

"Um…" she said blankly, staring at the menu with all of the dishes written in a fancy calligraphy that was IN NO WAY legible.

Percy (said unfairly hot god of the sea) peered over her shoulder and pointed at some dish (was it a dish? It might have been a drink). "I think you should get the Pissaladière*. It looks good. Or maybe the Gratin Dauphinois*. Both of them are good."

Annabeth cast a nervous look at him. "Right. I'll take the, uh, Gratin Doo-doocheen-" She broke off awkwardly, unable to pronounce the dish (and, she had no idea what was in it, which was decidedly unsafe).

"Gratin Dauphinois?" He smirked.

"Right." She muttered, face aflame. "I'll… take that." She looked up at the waitress, a pretty girl with bright red hair and green eyes not unlike Percy's.

"Mmkay. And what about you, sir?"

"I'll just have a coffee."

The waitress pursed her lips but didn't say anything. "And what would you like for dessert?"

"Um, I'll take the- the- cro-cro-kehm-boosh*."

The waitress, Rachel, she noted, smiled. "Close enough. And you, sir?"

Percy smiled back. "I'll have crêpe* number six."

"Excellent choice. Okay, I'll be back in a couple of minutes. Can I take your menus?"

Annabeth wordlessly pushed the two menus across the table towards Rachel. With another (annoyingly) perky smile, Rachel picked up the two menus and walked away.

"So," Percy folded his hands on top of one another neatly on the table. "Tell me about yourself."

"I'd really rather not."

"Well, this is my one shot to woo you, so let's make it count."

Annabeth made a face. "Woo me? Who even says that? That is so… I don't even know what century that's from."

"Really?" Percy hummed. "I thought it was fairly recent."

"You thought wrong." Annabeth said curtly.

Percy reached out and gently brushed her arm. "Now, now, Annabeth. Don't be like that. I'm trying to be friendly. Or romantic. Whichever you prefer."

"I'd really rather prefer neither." She muttered.

He raised an eyebrow (well, he tried to) at her. "Why so hostile? We were getting along… swimmingly… yesterday."

"Oh, gods, no," groaned Annabeth, putting a hand dramatically over her face. "Besides, I was the only one swimming. You were pretending to drown."

He gasped. "How did you figure that out? It was supposed to be a secret."

"You are literally a sea god. How do you live in the sea without drowning?"

"Point." He acquiesced. "You're very smart, you know."

"I am not smart. A smart person would have kicked you off the boat." She grumbled.

"Since I'm a sea god, a smart person would have given me some offerings… you know, sacrifices for smooth sailing." He countered.

"You're right. Then, after that, sent you on your merry way and hoped the sharks would eat you."

"I rule the sharks. I am their king."

She rolled her eyes. "You're also an egomaniac."

"I'm also truthful."

"Still self-centered."

"Rightfully so."

"The only thing pleasant about you is your face."

"Ha!" He crowed. "You like my face."

"I never said that. I said your face was pleasant, not that I enjoyed looking at it."

He smirked. "But you do enjoy looking at it."

"Yes, because your face looks like a baby's. I like children."

"Okay, one, rude. Two," - he wiggled his eyebrows - "Children, huh?"

"Not interested."

"Not interested in what?" said the waitress, coming over with a tray of food.

"Oh, nothing much," she said airily. "Just him."

Rachel laughed. "I'm sure he's very, very, boring." She set down the tray and placed the food on the table. "Well, you two have fun! Enjoy!"

-

"Well, this has been pleasant," said Annabeth abruptly, standing up. "I think I'll head home now."

"Let me walk you," said Percy instantly, reaching his arm out for her to grab.

She snorted and slapped it lightly. "No one does that anymore. Holding hands, yes, but grabbing arms, not really."

"But can I walk you home?"

She frowned. "Sure, I guess. It's kinda dangerous, so be careful, pretty boy."

Percy preened. "You think I'm pretty?"

"I said no such thing."

-

Percy gave a slight bow. "Your destination, madam."

Annabeth made a face. "Ew. You talk like you lived in the 19th century*. You seriously need to get up-to-date with how people talk."

Percy smiled. "Well, then, fair lady, would you care to teach me?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, also smiling. "Maybe a couple of lessons. Gods know you need them."

"I'll be happy to see you again."

-

No, I don't know what that is. I looked up 'fancy french foods' because it seemed logical at the time.

See above. And, no, I can't pronounce either of them.

Kro-kuhm-boosh. Spelled croquembouche. I looked up how to pronounce it for this purpose. Also, I don't know what any of these dishes are except for the crêpe.

I can pronounce these and have actually eaten them. Delicious. Like, seriously. Amazing. A blessing on Earth.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT PEOPLE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY SOUNDED LIKE DON'T SUE ME.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you forgot, the asterisks are referring to the bolded words above this. They are in order.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Screams* Lasttt chapterrr possiblyyyyy
> 
> *Weird shrieking noises*
> 
> Ugh, so like. As you know. I was originally going to make Percy [no spoilers], but I'm thinking of not going through with that because I can't write unhappy endings. It breaks my heart. Or what's left of it. (is there even anything left?)
> 
> But my editor/co-author pointed out that the story would never end properly if it didn't end this way.
> 
> Butttttt I also don't like listening to my editor/co-author. (you wouldn't have finished this without my nagging, you [censored])
> 
> *Coughs* LANGUAGE
> 
> Then she suggested writing the ending, and then writing an alternate ending in which Percy doesn't [no spoilers].
> 
> And for those that don't read the authors' notes, big surprise!
> 
> UwU
> 
> But this chapter is the sad one where Percy [no spoilers] qwq (god, that face is worse than the owos)
> 
> Shut up.

The last month had been a dream, in Annabeth's opinion. After a week of educating Percy on how to speak like a normal person in the twenty-first century, she found herself falling in love with him. Deep, sappy, honey-coated love. It was lovely… and so was he.

She knew that he wasn't human, but that didn't bother either of them. They stayed together on her ship; the crew loved him.

She showed him her favorite sights, her haunts, her childhood home. In turn, he showed her the wonders of the ocean. They'd toured popular places aboveground, and watched beautiful animals underwater. She'd shown him Venice and he'd shown her the Great Barrier Reef*.

He had whales "serenade" her, and she sang to him, softly, late at night when the crew was asleep.

And so, for a month, they loved each other.

-

"Percy…" she groaned, rolling over in bed. "Mm…" She felt around blindly, his side of the bed empty. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

His side of the bed was shockingly empty (he was a late riser). It was still warm, with a faint mark where he'd fallen asleep last night. "Percy?"

She scrambled out of the room hastily, pulling on a shirt and shorts as she went out. "Percy!"

"Annabeth, what's all the noise?" Said Jason, running out of his room. "Did Leo set something on fire again?"

"No… I can't find Percy."

Jason frowned, his brow creasing. "I don't know… have you checked your room?"

"I was just in my room."

"But did you look around, or did you just rush out here?"

"You're right," she mumbled reluctantly. "I'll go check."

-

When Annabeth walked in, the first thing that caught her eye was a green bowl, seemingly made out of sea glass on her nightstand. The green was the same color as Percy's eyes, and Annabeth was fairly certain that it wasn't there when she had gone to sleep the night before.

She walked over.

It had a glassy blue betta fish figurine next to it and a creamy sheet of paper inside it - a note, if it could even be called that. The handwriting was atrociously messy and undeniably Percy's.

She picked it up. It read:

Sorry, Annie. I tried to stick around, but the sea moves and so do I. I thought these looked cool and I wanted you to have things to break if you need them. They'll repair themselves, no worry!

I love you, Wise Girl.

-Percy.

Dimly, Annabeth was aware that tears were dripping onto the paper. Jason and the rest of the crew knocked. She heard Piper's concerned voice through the door.

"Annabeth? Are you okay?"

"Where's Percy?" Hazel's voice floated through the door.

"He left," she choked out. "He's gone."

Reyna frowned. "He left? What do you mean?"

"He's not coming back. I…" She took a shuddering breath. "He couldn't stay. I don't think he's coming back."

"I think you should take a break." Piper said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe go hang out with an old friend, someone that's not in the crew."

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I'll do that. Pipes, you're in charge. I'll-" She paused, taking a second to breathe deeply. "I'll let you know when I'm ready to come back."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Take me to Long Island*."

-

Annabeth raised her hand and knocked on the door three times. When she was about to knock for a fourth time, the door swung open, and a girl with steely blue eyes stepped out*.

Thalia Grace.

"Well, isn't a pleasant surprise. Come in."

Thalia and Annabeth had met at a summer camp for troubled kids (junior delinquents). Thalia had run away from home, and Annabeth had a tendency to snoop into peoples' personal business through the internet (she hacked people. A lot of people). It had taken a while, but they eventually bonded and stayed in touch throughout the years.

Currently, Thalia was living with some other girls - and adopted family, so to speak. Thalia had issues with her biological family and they had issues with her - save her brother, Jason.

"So what do you need?" Thalia said, quirking a dark eyebrow.

Annabeth smiled at that, but shrugged. "Just wanted to see you. Is there anyone else here?"

Thalia waved her hand airily. "No, they're all out." She paused. "Except Zoe*. I think she's upstairs… or downstairs. Not sure. Seriously, though, what do you need?"

"Well.. I just need advice. See, there's this guy…"

Thalia laughed. "You're asking me, the single extraordinaire, for love advice?"

Annabeth flushed. "I just wanted someone to talk to that doesn't know him."

"Well, then, by all means, continue. I won't stop you, at least."

"So… he's… oh, this is hard. He's obnoxious, but in a cute way, you know? Um, he's really… sure of himself, but he's also really sweet and likes big, grand gestures. We- we've been dating for a while, and then, one morning, I woke up, and he- he was gone. Just… gone."

Thalia snorted. "If he just up and ditches you like that, he's not worth your time, Beth."

"No- he didn't want to go, but he had to. I- I can't tell you why, but he had to leave and I don't think he's coming back. We- I really like him, Thalia."

Thalia sighed. "Alright. Here's what I would do: go after him."

Annabeth blinked at her. "What?"

"Go after him. I mean, if he had to leave, but he didn't want to and you" - she sighed, deep and knowing - "you really like him, then hunt him down. You know, find a way to stay with him. You get what I mean?"

"Oh…" Annabeth breathed, and she flung her arms around Thalia's neck. "Thals, you're a genius! I've got to go."

"Yeah, go get your man," Thalia said dryly. "You're welcome."

-

Percy sat on a rock, staring forlornly out into the distance.

He missed Annabeth. He really did. After all, it wasn't like he wanted to leave. But he had to. He had duties. The tide was moving, fish were swimming, and all of that stuff.

But he missed her crew. He missed her ship. He missed her.

He closed his eyes, opened them, and could almost imagine the boat coming from the direction he knew it was supposed to be docked.

He closed his eyes again.

When he opened them, he felt like he could still see the outline of the ship. He swore under his breath, muttering, "All of the clams I ate last night must be getting to me*."

He rubbed his eyes, and when he looked again, the ship was still there, even closer and larger than it had been before.

"What the heck…?"

Standing on the imaginary (it had to be imaginary, right?) ship was a woman with blonde hair and stormy gray eyes.

His heart soared. Annabeth*.

-

I looked up pretty ocean things. The internet is useful uwu

Sobbity sob sob I can't write sad scenes qwq excuse me i just need to go die somewhere-

I also can't describe people properly-

ZOE IS ALIVE BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T DESERVE TO DIE. *sobs*

Can gods get food poisoning? I don't know. But it's MY FIC so MY RULES (and my rule is that Percy is a moron who doesn't know either.)

Two seconds later, Annabeth fell off the ship and died. The end. Haha. Joking. Ok, so not funny. Good ending? Bad ending? Don't kill me, please.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Reads over story*
> 
> *Giggles uncontrollably*

**Author's Note:**

> A month after I started writing this story: *screaming*
> 
> OMGGGG! I finished writing and I'm FINALLY POSTING! WHOO!
> 
> I wanna note that this took me a month, give or take, which is RIDICULOUS. *sobs in shame*
> 
> Ahh!
> 
> *throws love and glitter and spaghetti at my precious readers*


End file.
